ML23338A020
| ML23338A020 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 11/16/2023 |
| From: | Eric Michel NRC/OGC |
| To: | Dwyer M US Federal Judiciary, Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit |
| References | |
| Case 23-852, DktEntry 46.1 | |
| Download: ML23338A020 (1) | |
Text
Case: 23-852, 11/16/2023, DktEntry: 46.1, Page 1 of 4 UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 November 16, 2023 BY ELECTRONIC FILING Molly C. Dwyer, Clerk of Court United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 95 7th Street San Francisco, CA 94103 Re: San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace v. NRC, No.23-852 (Oral argument scheduled for January 10, 2024)
Dear Ms. Dwyer:
Pursuant to Rule 28(j) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Respondent U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), on behalf of Federal Respondents, writes to inform the Court of a recent update concerning the agency action that is the subject of the petition for review in this case.
This case concerns the NRCs issuance of an exemption to Pacific Gas &
Electric Company (PG&E) on March 2, 2023. The exemption provided that, so long as PG&E submits a license renewal application to the NRC by December 31, 2023, and the NRC determines that the application is sufficient for docketing, then PG&Es existing licenses for its two nuclear reactor units at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant will be in timely renewal status, and those licenses will not be deemed
Case: 23-852, 11/16/2023, DktEntry: 46.1, Page 2 of 4 M. Dwyer to have expired until the NRC takes final action on the license renewal application.
See Respondents Brief at 14.
On November 7, 2023, PG&E submitted its license renewal application to the NRC. Correspondence from the NRC announcing the receipt and availability of the application is attached to this letter.1 The NRC is now in the process of reviewing the application to determine whether it is sufficient for docketing.
In their Brief, Respondents raised questions about Petitioners standing and the ripeness of their claims, in part because PG&Es renewal application had not yet been received or accepted by the NRC. Respondents Brief at 30-33. Although PG&E has now submitted its application, under the terms of the exemption, PG&Es licenses will not be considered in timely renewal status unless and until the NRC determines the application is sufficient for docketing. The NRC remains committed to acting upon the application promptly (Br. at 62) and will continue to provide the Court with any pertinent updates.
Respectfully,
/s/ Eric Michel Senior Attorney U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1
The license renewal application is publicly available at https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2331/ML23311A154.html.
Case: 23-852, 11/16/2023, DktEntry: 46.1, Page 3 of 4 November 14, 2023 Ms. Paula Gerfen Senior Vice President, Generation and Chief Nuclear Officer Pacific Gas and Electric Company Diablo Canyon Power Plant P.O. Box 56, Mail Code 104/6 Avila Beach, CA 93424
SUBJECT:
DIABLO CANYON NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, UNITS 1 AND 2 - RECEIPT AND AVAILABILITY OF LICENSE RENEWAL APPLICATION
Dear Ms. Paula Gerfen:
By letter dated November 7, 2023 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML23311A154), Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) submitted an application for the renewal of Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-80 and DPR-82 for Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant (DCPP), Units 1 and 2 to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The NRC staff is currently performing an acceptance review for docketing of the application in accordance with the requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Section 2.101(a)(2) and will notify you of the results of that review.
Should it determine that the application is acceptable for docketing, the NRC staff will establish a schedule for the review, in accordance with 10 CFR 2.102(a).
A notice of receipt of the license renewal application is being sent to the Office of the Federal Register for publication and a copy of that notice is attached.
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Brian Harris as the project manager for the safety review and Ms. Kimberly Conway as the project manager for the environmental review of the license renewal application. Please forward copies of all license renewal correspondence to Mr. Harris and Ms Conway. Mr. Samson Lee remains responsible for the project management of all issues other than license renewal for DCPP.
Case: 23-852, 11/16/2023, DktEntry: 46.1, Page 4 of 4 P. Gerfen If you have any questions on this matter, please contact Mr. Brian Harris by email at Brian.Harris2@nrc.gov or Ms. Kimberly Conway by email at Kimberly.Conway@nrc.gov.
Sincerely, Lee, Samuel signing on behalf of Smith, Brian on 11/14/23 Brian Smith, Director Division of New and Renewed Licenses Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Docket Nos: 50-275 and 50-323
Enclosure:
Federal Register Notice cc w/encl: Listserv